The ongoing global pandemic of COVID-19 has done quite a number on Hollywood last year. Major studios were faced with a choice between delaying the cinema releases of (would-have-been0 2020 blockbusters to 2021, or biting the bullet and putting them up for streaming usually in their own exclusive digital platforms. Others, like Warner Bros. Pictures, have decided to do both. Following the relative success of giving “Wonder Woman 1984” a limited cinema premiere alongside streaming availability on HBO Max, the studio announced in December 2020 that their major 2021 films will follow suit, among them the now-realized fourth installment of “The Matrix.” This past Sunday its official logo was revealed.
Comic Book Resources has it that the latest film in the hit urban
sci-fi action franchise “The Matrix” will not officially bill itself as the
fourth movie, but will simply be titled just “Matrix,” almost like the original
which came out in 1999. This was revealed as part of a half-minute long teaser
video released by Warner Bros. Pictures on January 17, showcasing all their big
Hollywood releases for 2021. The fact that the movie title has no numerical sequel
indicator has intensified discussion on whether or not this is a follow-up to the
original trilogy, or a (soft) reboot.
This year, the biggest Warner Bros. premieres are coming to theaters and streaming on @HBOMax the exact same day. What movie are you most excited for? pic.twitter.com/el9mVnI9pN
— Warner Bros. Pictures (@wbpictures) January 16, 2021
While 1999’s “The Matrix” and its
direct sequels “The Matrix Reloaded” and “The Matrix Revolutions” (2003) were
the collaborative brainchild of the Wachowski sibling creative tandem, only
Lana (formerly Larry) Wachowski is the sole driving force for this film, which
brings back Keanu Reeves as hacker-turned-messianic figure Neo and Carrie-Anne
Moss as Trinity. Returning cast members include Jada Pinkett-Smith as Niobe,
Lambert Wilson as the Merovingian, and Daniel Bernhardt as Agent Johnson (after
schedule conflicts left Hugo Weaving unable to reprise as Agent Smith). New
additions include Neil Patrick Harris, Yahya Abdul-Mateem II, Jonathan Groff,
Priyanka Chopra and Erendira Ibarra.
Information on the plot has been
scarce as production commenced (with needed breaks) all through 2020 during the
COVID pandemic. Reeves has hinted that it will not be a prequel (as
Abdul-Mateem has been speculated to portray a younger version of Laurence
Fishburne’s Morpheus), emphasizing that “there is no going back to the past.”
There are questions of course regarding how his character and Moss’ Trinity are
back following their fates in “Revolutions,” but they might just have to wait
for future trailers coming ahead of “Matrix” premiering on December 22, 2021 in
both US cinemas (initially) and HBO Max.
Other WB releases coming this year
as showcased in the simultaneous release teaser include a new take on “The
Suicide Squad,” another Lin-Manuel Miranda musical adaptation in “In the
Heights,” “Godzilla vs. Kong,” “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It,” “Space
Jam: A New Legacy,” and a reboot film for fighting game “Mortal Kombat.”
Image courtesy of Wikipedia
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